


What WERE You Expecting Then?

by SereneSorrow



Category: Bleach
Genre: But also not, Dimension Travel, F/M, M/M, Post-Canon, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:55:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24023944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SereneSorrow/pseuds/SereneSorrow
Summary: There are a lot of things that Ichigo HAS to do, he HAS to invade Soul Society, he HAS to rescue Rukia. One thing he doesn't have to do? Believe what he sees.~Time Travel or Dimension Travel... YOU decide. :D
Relationships: Hirako Shinji/Kurosaki Ichigo, Inoue Orihime/Kurosaki Ichigo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 74





	What WERE You Expecting Then?

**Author's Note:**

> So this is another story I started writing (on February first actually) for ShinIchi Weekend 2020, for the Day 1 prompts of Time Travel/Dimension Travel AU, and Post-Canon. I didn't get it finished on time because after I wrote it I thought of a lot more that I wanted to put into it instead of leaving so much to the reader's imagination in the end.
> 
> WARNING: This story is kind of mean to Orihime, it's not her fault that she's basically the bad guy but it's necessary for the story I want to tell, so fair warning.

One minute Ichigo was running through the Dangai, briefly terrified and freaking out about the damn cleaner, and the next he was wrenching Ishida out of the way before his stupid cape-mantle-whatever got caught and pulled him under the absurd thing. It took him instead, Ichigo tumbled under the machine and the last thing he heard over the rushing in his ears and the rumble of the cleaner was Mr. Yoruichi's shocked exclamation of his name.

Then the whole world went black.

The feeling of his bones being ground to dust, his body to a pulp, that he expected never came. It was just a confusing kaleidoscope of black and grey, maybe a little purple, and the feeling of being bounced and jostled near endlessly. Ichigo reached out both arms, trying to catch the feeling of something solid anywhere around him but he found nothing.

As suddenly as the whole thing started, Ichigo found himself thrown out of the endless void and he rolled, coming to a stop on his back somewhere else. The cleaner was nowhere in sight, it was the first thing he checked for, craning his head around frantically. When he didn't see it anywhere Ichigo let himself slump against the ground in relief and took a moment to breathe while he asked himself what the Hell had just happened.

It felt like he'd just been chewed up and spit out, his soul kind of buzzed, and he needed a minute to sort himself out. Taking deep breaths Ichigo calmed himself, and then he was frantically scrambling up as something occurred to him. His sword, it was- It was still on his back. For a second he'd worried that it had gotten separated from him in that whole ordeal but no, it was still right where it belonged.

With a sigh of relief Ichigo took a look around himself and then picked the direction that most closely resembled a path, without Mr. Yoruichi or anyone else that he could see he had no idea where he was or where he was going, but he couldn't just stay here. Hoping that he wasn't about to get himself thoroughly lost Ichigo set out at a run, thinking that maybe he could catch up to his... well, friends wasn't entirely the right word.

For Chad, yes, the stoic guy was definitely his friend. Ishida though, they were more like enemies? He wasn't really sure, Ichigo figured that he _could_ be friends with the guy, if Ishida would get over the whole Quincy/Shinigami enemies thing. That didn't seem likely though, so he wasn't sure why Ishida was coming along on his mission to rescue Rukia. Inoue, Ichigo _really_ didn't know why she was coming, she wasn't much of a fighter and he hadn't even known if she and Rukia were close friends. He'd kind of thought not, but then why else would Inoue be coming along? In any case, he had figured that he would have to keep an eye on her, he would have rather left her behind but Mr. Yoruichi seemed to think that she would do alright and he hadn't had time to argue.

Ichigo shook off thoughts of his temporary allies as he caught sight of a light up ahead, and then before he knew it he was tumbling through a hole in... the SKY?

With a shout of surprise Ichigo fell, a long way down, and unknowingly flared his reiatsu wildly enough that it was a beacon that reached across most of the Divisions of the Gotei 13. Several Captains looked around in confusion at the chaotic and uncontrolled signal, and one in particular set off to see what was wrong.

Ichigo picked himself up and checked himself for injuries before looking around. He was in some kind of... well it looked like an old period drama but it was well kept and functional. There were signs everywhere of old rundown buildings, but everything looked like it had been repaired and remodeled until it was more 'classic' than 'impoverished'. The people giving him a wide berth as they went about their business around him seemed to have a lot of smiles for each other, and Ichigo wondered if this was Soul Society. He couldn't think of where else it could be.

“Ichigo!” An unfamiliar voice called, and Ichigo started, then turned to face a man with blonde hair and a weird haircut that included diagonal bangs striding toward him.

They guy was wearing the shinigami clothes that Ichigo himself wore, a regular sword at his side, but there was a billowing white coat over the whole thing that Ichigo recognized as having seen on that Byakuya guy the night he had taken Rukia back to Soul Society.

_'A captain?'_ Ichigo wondered in surprise, _'how does he know my name?'_ Came as a quick second thought.

Ichigo's heart thumped but he ruthlessly shoved aside the fear, he'd never let that stop him before in a street fight and he wouldn't let it stop him now against a captain. Even if the last time he had seen someone with one of those coats he had nearly died.

“Who are you?” Ichigo asked bluntly, a suspicious scowl on his face.

The blonde's steps faltered as he came closer, and then he stopped completely a few feet away, eyes narrowing as he looked Ichigo over. He saw _something_ , but Ichigo didn't know what it was.

“Hirako Shinji, Captain of the Fifth Division.” The blonde introduced with a strained but impressively wide grin.

Ichigo frowned harder, because this guy was acting like they knew each other or something, and Ichigo had never seen him before in his life.

“How do you know my name?” Ichigo demanded bluntly, because he wanted answers and didn't see any reason in beating around the bush.

“Ya' just came through the Dangai, right?” Captain Hirako asked, nodding to himself and not waiting for an answer. “Sometimes people come out at the wrong place. We can figure out what happened, if ya' want ta' come back ta' the Division.”

Ichigo didn't trust the offer for a moment, but this stranger was offering to walk him right into the place where all the shinigami worked, where Rukia was being kept prisoner. Ichigo accepted, for that reason alone, but he was going to keep a close eye on this Hirako guy.

Who kept glancing at him as they walked side by side, a good foot of space between them because Ichigo didn't know if he was at risk of being grabbed or something. Every time Ichigo caught the man staring Hirako would say something snarky, instead of looking away, abashed at being caught. It was weird, and Ichigo wondered how the man could just not be bothered by being caught staring. It pricked at Ichigo's nerves, and he didn't like the fact that this man seemed to know him, he acted like it at least. Like they were old friends or something, even though Ichigo didn't have a clue what was happening.

Eventually he found himself staring back at the captain, anything to avoid the stares of literally everyone else that they were passing as they walked through the gates that marked the start of Seireitei and down the even more neatly kept streets between the Divisions. Ichigo didn't have much luck mapping out the place, it all looked the same and was laid out like a maze, but eventually they were in an office where a shy looking girl holding a stack of paperwork seemed to be waiting for Captain Hirako.

She stared at Ichigo too, before asking “Captain, should I report-”

Hirako cut her off without hesitation, and Ichigo wondered who she was going to tell about his own presence here.

“Just get Urahara on the line, figure out where he is this week so that we can get this mess solved quickly.” Hirako told her.

Ichigo was shocked by the easy mention of the shopkeeper, whom he had believed was trying to remain unnoticed by Soul Society. He hadn't wanted to come help after all, only sending his strange talking cat along.

“Yes sir.” The girl agreed, and backed out of the room with another glance at Ichigo.

He didn't have the first clue what to do but Hirako seemed to. In another uncomfortable display of how well he apparently knew Ichigo he offered him the tea that Ichigo liked and even went back to his paperwork so that Ichigo could freak out in peace. When he noticed how far Ichigo was winding himself up though, Hirako offered that ridiculous grin again and started chattering on about things that Ichigo didn't quite understand but that nevertheless made him calmer for the simple distraction. Actually, he was starting to like this guy, the sense he had that was telling him not to trust anyone until he knew what was really going on was getting quieter, like he was being soothed by all the inane chatter about overflowing paperwork and problems with supplies requisitions.

Ichigo was just starting to wonder whether he should stop being so complacent and find a chance to escape and go searching for his allies, and _Rukia_ , when the door slid open again and the meek girl returned. He didn't know why he was hesitating, except for the fact that in spite of his wariness of these shinigami and the certain knowledge that he was supposed to be here on a rescue mission something about this guy just felt familiar. It wasn't that Hirako was acting like they knew each other or were friends or something, it was a kind of sixth sense feeling that Ichigo sometimes had with ghost encounters. He hadn't noticed it as much since meeting Rukia, but right now he had that weird feeling again, the same one that had once made him think that it was because of his family's clinic that he could see ghosts in the first place. There was just some kind of unconscious connection at play here, which somehow led to him kind of trusting this Hirako guy. Not entirely, but he'd follow along for now since Urahara was someone that Ichigo knew.

According to the girl's report Urahara was in the Living World, which was apparently a surprise to Hirako, but it didn't slow him down. Ichigo was immediately worried that they would be traveling through the Dangai again, not sure that he was up for outrunning that cleaner thing again, when instead Hirako did something that freaked Ichigo out as much as anything had in the last half hour.

A hand clenched over his face and dragged down through the air like claws and somehow a _Hollow mask_ coalesced over Hirako's head. Ichigo was just about to freak out when glowing eyes met his and froze him in place. He didn't feel threatened, more like there was some strange pang of kinship in him, it was weird. It was like when he and Chad had become friends, but why Ichigo felt that he had something in common with a shinigami wearing a Hollow mask Ichigo just couldn't figure out.

With a twitch and a wave of Hirako's hand a tear just opened right there in the air of his office, sliding open like bars until it was just a black void. It looked like the Dangai, but something about it felt different, and Ichigo steeled himself and then stepped confidently into it after Hirako. There was no way he would let the Captain see him afraid of a _doorway_.

The Shoten wasn't the way he remembered it. That was the first thing Ichigo noticed when they arrived right outside the building. It was also the first real clue that Ichigo had gotten that _something_ really wasn't right. Getting dragged behind a... a... train thing and winding up farther away from his allies, sure. Someone knowing that he was coming for Rukia (although now that he thought about it Hirako hadn't mentioned her once) before he even got there, possible, Renji or Byakuya might have told someone about him and maybe they had some way of monitoring that Dangai place. The shop that he'd just been standing in an hour or less ago looking as though it had gotten a fresh coat of paint and a completely new sign, as well as a re-paved front walk, that wasn't so easy to explain away. Something weird was definitely going on, and it wasn't just his confusion at not having all the facts that was affecting him.

Stowing his nerves away Ichigo followed Hirako into the building, meeting Urahara in one of the rooms behind the shop. Every room he'd passed by so far was definitely different than he remembered, and he really needed an explanation. Hat-n-Clogs looked the same as always, which was a relief, although what Ichigo could see of his face between the hat and fan was hard to read. Ichigo thought the man was surprised, which Ichigo didn't like, and if this shinigami Captain was so welcome in the shop then Ichigo wondered why he had needed to break into Soul Society in the first place.

“Kurosaki! What an unusual surprise.” Hat-n-Clogs said cheerfully, not sounding at all like he hadn't expected Ichigo to return from Soul Society so soon. Ichigo couldn't really tell _what_ he sounded like, or what he was thinking.

Ichigo shifted uncomfortably under the observation of the shopkeeper's gaze and followed along with Urahara's directions for testing this and scanning that, hoping that there was a reasonable explanation for what was going on.

“The thing is, you aren't the Kurosaki Ichigo that we know. Not anymore, at least, it seems that you have traveled through time!” Hat-n-Clogs finally announced and Ichigo's patience, and last nerve, snapped.

Ichigo didn't know what he'd been expecting, but it wasn't this. He stared at the shopkeeper while the man went on and on about the fascinating properties of the Dangai and how he had only heard of incidents like this occurring in reverse, someone from the future arriving in the recent past. Ichigo could barely take it all in, and he had no idea what any of it meant.

He ran.

Out of the room and clean out of the shop, hitting the pavement and he just kept going.

_'What the Hell else am I supposed to do?'_ He wondered, thoughts racing. _'Time travel? Like that's a thing that happens?'_ Ichigo's maddening thoughts continued.

_'Okay, sure, all this ghost business has been one new revelation after another.'_ Ichigo thought that he had gotten used to that, _'but time travel? That can't be possible.'_

Ichigo ran as fast as he could, which was faster than anyone else he raced past, and headed for his home. Where else would he go, but the place that he belonged and was sure he would find unchanged? It had to be, the Kurosaki Clinic _had_ to be the same place that Ichigo remembered.

When he arrived it was to see that the Clinic he called home had also received a fresh coat of paint, and he couldn't help sneaking up to peer into one of the windows instead of going inside. The sight that greeted him sent him reeling away, too shocked to do anything other then trip over his own heels and land on his ass. An orange haired guy, that looked sort of half-way between Ichigo himself and goat-face as far as build and bone structure was concerned, was kissing (KISSING!) Inoue.

_'What the Hell is that?'_ His mind shouted. _'Time travel? Try alternate dimension!'_ There was no way that he was kissing the ditzy air-headed girl that he barely knew and was only acquainted with through his old childhood friend Tatsuki.

_'No way. No way.'_ His mind just kept repeating over and over. He didn't kiss girls like this, he didn't even look at girls, he didn't date. Ichigo had way too much to deal with, school, idiots who called him out over his hair color or who he had to teach a lesson to about respecting the dead, looking after his sisters, there was no way that he'd ever have gone on a date with anyone at all! He wasn't ready for that sort of thing, Hell, was Inoue already interested in him like that?

 _'Is that why she came along to save Rukia? For_ me? _'_ Ichigo wondered helplessly as he gaped up at the window that he thankfully could no longer see through from this angle.

“Hey! Who're you?” A voice called down from a window above him and Ichigo started in surprise at being addressed.

Looking up he gaped at a boy and girl who were leaning halfway through the window to look at him. The girl looked a lot like that Renji guy who had taken Rukia, and the boy- The boy looked like Ichigo himself. He looked almost exactly like old photos that Ichigo had of himself, and Ichigo's mind just about gave up at the obvious implication.

This. Was. Not. Happening.

Ichigo found himself running away again, blindly following a familiar path to a familiar river where he could stop and _think_.

Fifteen year old Kurosaki Ichigo knew about _girls_ of course. He was in high school, it was impossible not to learn certain things, and hear even _more_. Until now Ichigo had never really thought about it in regards to himself though, it was just a thing that was out there. People got married and had kids, yeah, everybody knew that. Ichigo had never had thoughts like 'I want a wife' or 'I'll have 'X' number of kids' though, as far as he knew he'd never even looked at a girl and thought 'she's hot'.

_'Now what?'_ He silently asked the river.

This wasn't anything that he had imagined ever happening, and he had no idea what he was supposed to do with this 'future knowledge' anyway. Ichigo stared out at the river in front of him, wondering what his mom would think if she could see this. Blinking back tears he realized that she'd probably be happy for him or something, a wife and son, yeah that was probably something you were supposed to be _happy_ about.

_'What the Hell is wrong with me?'_ Ichigo just couldn't find it in himself to be anything other than terrified of what he'd seen.

“Hey?” A voice asked from behind him, and Ichigo whirled around to see... _himself_.

That older guy from the house was standing higher up the hill, staring at him. He must have followed Ichigo from the house. Ichigo had no idea what to say to this guy, this stranger with his strange family and his strange future life.

“Are you okay?” The guy asked, coming closer, and Ichigo edged back. He really had no idea how to handle this.

“F-fine. Whatever, just leave me alone!” Ichigo shouted at the stranger, confused, shocked and not knowing what to do.

“Hey, it's okay. You've been standing here a while, Kisuke called and told me about how you've come from the past. I just thought we could talk.” The guy held up his hands and Ichigo wondered why he hadn't brought his sword, or if he had Kon with him, or maybe one of those glove things.

“Talk about what?” Ichigo asked suspiciously, wondering what this guy thought there was to talk about.

“Whatever has you so freaked out, your reiatsu is going crazy and you're attracting Hollows. The gang's already had to kill a few in the past couple minutes.” Seeing how this news made Ichigo look around for Hollows, and his friends, the guy continued. “They'll stay back, I was only planning to talk to you one on one.” He offered.

Ichigo figured that the guy was sincere, he looked it, but that didn't make Ichigo any more comfortable. This whole thing, there was no way he was going to be comfortable. The other guy sighed when Ichigo didn't speak up and took a few steps closer, taking a seat on the riverbank and patting a spot next to him when Ichigo didn't jump and backpedal. Ichigo didn't take the offered spot, he just kept staring at the guy. He wanted to look away, but he couldn't help worrying that the guy might be a threat.

“So what is it that upset you so much about being in the future? We're pretty adaptable, I don't think it's just the time traveling itself that's throwing you for a loop.” The guy asked, looking up at him while he waited for an answer.

Ichigo hesitated, but couldn't help blurting out “your family” and then stopping, seeing it in his mind as though he was looking through the window again.

The other guy thought about it for a second and turned his head away to face the river before he spoke.

“I know it's probably confusing to see all of this, but you don't need to think so hard about it, everything will happen in it's own time. It'll all work out, and then you'll probably laugh at this-”

“But why would I ever date Inoue? There's no way I'd ever love Inoue!” Ichigo shouted desperately, just to make the man stop talking, the first words on his mind pouring out before he even completely realized what he was saying.

The older man froze, blinking in shock as he processed that. He got a funny look on his face the next time he spoke “You want to rephrase that?” He asked, expression darkening to angry as he stood up and faced Ichigo.

Ichigo didn't know what to say next, he had no idea how anyone could think that he and this guy were- were the same _person_. He knew that he'd said something mean about the guy's _wife_ but he couldn't take it back. He was sure of it, there was no way he could picture himself ever kissing Inoue, and this guy, Urahara and that Captain Hirako were all acting like he _was_ the same as this guy! He couldn't handle this, he just couldn't stand it. Ichigo's hands were shaking and he grit his teeth against the way his breath was speeding up.

“No! Inoue's a crazy, daydreaming ditz and I don't want anything to do with her!” Ichigo yelled right in the guy's face, not even bothering to duck when the punch came flying at his face.

Ichigo was knocked clean off his feet at the force behind the hit, but the shock cleared his head a bit, and he felt more in control of himself as he picked himself up. Looking back at the other guy, he could see the shock on his face, and the way he still had his hand clenched from the hit. It was like he couldn't believe that he'd actually thrown the punch, and he was completely frozen by his surprise. Ichigo tried to take the chance to run for it, not knowing where he would go, just thinking that he needed to get farther away again and anywhere was better than here.

It didn't work, the guy lept after him and grabbed his sleeve, yanking him back and keeping him from escaping. Ichigo threw a punch of his own but the guy caught it and they struggled against each other for a moment before they were interrupted.

“Ah! There you are Kurosaki!” Hat-n-Clogs' voice shattered the strained silence as he clopped up toward them. “Very good, you're both here. I hope you've worked everything out because I have a way to send you back to where you came from!”

The look in Urahara's eyes said that he'd caught on that they were fighting even though they'd stepped apart once they'd noticed his approach, but he didn't comment on it, instead waving them on to follow him as he turned right around again and set off.

Ichigo took the out and ignored the other... _certainly not him_ , following Hat-n-Clogs in a rushand trying to pretend that the other guy wasn't there as they met up with Hirakoback at the Shoten. Hirako looked between Ichigo and the other guy and suggested that maybe that _-not Ichigo-_ should head home, and Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief that he was sure Hirako noticed.

"Here, let me take a look at that." Hirako said as he glared at the bruise starting to form on Ichigo's jaw and cheek.

“O-okay?” Ichigo wasn't sure what the look in Hirako's eyes was about but that really weird kinship feeling was back so he settled down and let Hirako's fingertips gently probe at the bruise.

Ichigo tried not to fidget as Hirako's hands started glowing with a bit of greenish light as he held them over his jaw, and he bit his lip as he felt the sore ache and throbbing pain that accompanied bruises fade. Hirako and Urahara didn't actually say anything, but they exchanged a look over his head that he decided to ignore, and then the green light cut out and they were all getting to their feet again.

“Back to Soul Society then, let's get you home.” Urahara said as Hirako lead the way out of the Shoten and the three of them went back to Soul Society the same way Hirako had lead Ichigo to the Shoten in the first place, through that same Hollow mask portal thing.

Another gate of some kind was their destination, and Hat-n-Clogs did something to it that Ichigo was still too dazed after everything that had happened to him to pay attention to. At this point he was just following the shopkeeper's directions and hoping for the best, it was his only real option anyway. He didn't think he'd be able to trust anyone else here, except for Hirako and Hat-n-Clogs everyone had been... just wrong.

Ichigo stepped through the gate, not even bothering to say any farewell words to the two blondes, even though he supposed he was thankful for their reliability and would regret it later that he had not at least thanked them for getting him home.

“He was really freaked out about seeing that he's married to Orihime.” Shinji said aside as the artificial rift closed behind the young man.

“Ichigo was a remarkably naive boy, especially at that particular age, and very stubborn. I'm sure that he will sort out his feelings eventually.” Kisuke answered with false confidence and a wave of his fan as he clattered off back the way he came.

Shinji shook his head and put it out of his mind since there was nothing else he could do, and resigned himself to the rest of his day being full of monotonous paperwork. Peacetime was such a chore, it was too bad this little diversion couldn't have lasted longer, Ichigo always seemed to make life more interesting.

Within the rift Ichigo tumbled gracelessly until he reached his destination. Falling into the Dangai, even if it wasn't the same space he'd traveled through with Captain Hirako, one more time was less freaky and more habit. He didn't have any more capacity for shock after the revelations of the last... it felt like hours but he had no idea how long he'd been in that strange place. Instead of thinking about it he just picked himself up and set off, leaping out of the rift that showed a patch of sky as he hoped with every fiber of his being that this was where he was _supposed_ to be.

The tumble out of the sky should have been expected after that first drop, but Ichigo's mind had plenty else about his trip to distract it and he was caught by surprise just enough to trip over himself and plummet back to earth, crashing into the dirt all over again. Getting to his feet he saw Ishida, Chad, Inoue and Mr. Yoruichi staring at him from only a few feet away.

“Well, at least you made it out.” The cat's words were only a grumble but his tail flicked more harshly than his words and tone suggested he felt.

“Kurosaki-san, are you alright?” Inoue asked worriedly.

Ichigo tried not to flinch and couldn't be sure that he succeeded as he reacted to her words. He nodded his head though, even if he couldn't quite look at her. He had to keep everything that he'd just seen to himself, there was no way that anyone would believe he'd just traveled through time. It looked like he'd just arrived moments after the other four had exited the Dangai so they probably didn't think he'd been more than a few seconds, maybe a minute behind them. They'd never believe it, and God forbid Inoue did believe it and think it was a sign or something! If she already had feelings for him it would just make her think that he felt the same! No, he absolutely, positively _had_ to keep it to himself. There was no way he was _ever_ going to tell anyone about this.

“I'm fine, are we in Soul Society now then?” He asked, looking around at the place just to avoid any further inquiries from Inoue.

He frowned as he took in the familiar sight. It looked exactly like the place that he had arrived in that 'future' Soul Society, but the repairs were gone, the whole place looked completely broken down. There weren't any people around either, it almost looked deserted. He wondered how big of a difference just a few years could make, and what was going on here _now_ that it was all so run down.

“Are you sure that you're alright Kurosaki-san?” Inoue asked again, stepping closer to him, and Ichigo definitely flinched back this time but he tired to play it off.

Unsuccessfully by the looks on everyone's faces, but he ignored their further questions with single-minded determination. Instead of speaking he headed off directly toward Seireitei, their destination and goal, intent on powering through the whole mess of a situation until it wasn't the focus of everyone's attention anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> So I only have half of chapter 2 written (because I set it aside to work on other ShinIchi week stuff), so I don't know when I'll be able to post more, but there will be more eventually!


End file.
